September 02, 2020 recorded the event of a decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) rolling out the endorsement of November 01, as another annual event to commemorate the National Youth Day, as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. The development marked setting aside a day in national record to celebrate, reflect on and find solutions to the issues that affect the Youth in the Country. The marking of the event on Monday, has not gone without reflection on matters affecting the Youth in the Country. Just as the purpose for setting aside the day would demand, reflections over the prevailing situations as it concern the Youth have remained sacrosanct.
It is incontrovertible that gross matters of national concerns have left the Youth demography in the Country largely around the corridor of lamentations over such deficiencies as socio-economic strains, including gross unemployment, underemployment, insecurity, and institutional decay among other defecting social deformities. The records of socio-political disconnection with the youth and from some angles, violation of human right and degeneration of human dignity, are sensations that have come to compound the feelings of neglect among the youths.
The clogging of the circumstances have been the grounds for lamentations over a situation which has continued to leave many disillusioned. In the perspective of Nigerian Youth Advocate, Seun Awogbenle, while it was a welcome development to set aside a day to celebrate the Country’s youth, the fact that the commemoration is coming amidst plethora of social turbulence as high youth unemployment, underemployment, kidnapping, harassment and even killing of young people across the country, calls for deep concern. “While I am delighted that the Nigerian government has set a date for the celebration of Nigeria’s young people, what is actually sad is that this celebration is coming amidst high youth unemployment, underemployment, kidnapping, harassment and even killing of young people across the country. Asides from the obvious lack of economic opportunities, the continued violation of the rights of young Nigerians also call for very serious concern,” he lamented. “Without adequate and consistent investment in young people, it will be almost impossible to maximise the strength, potential, talent, ingenuity and inventiveness of Nigeria’s young population for economic growth and development. Despite the limited opportunities and harsh business environment, Nigeria’s young people have remained resilient, and managed to stay on the edge of survival in spite of government,” he averred. “From Logistics, Food retail, cosmetics, event planning, interior design, fashion, style, Agriculture, tech or even as a Vendor, young people in Nigeria are trying to either start a new business or manage an existing business, despite the harsh and tough business climate in Nigeria, but is government really thinking about them?”, he queried, submitting that “it is my hope that this year’s celebration will be a wake up call to government, to prioritise young people who remain the country’s most vital and most important asset.”
Unemployment and underemployment remain one deep seated albatross which ravaging impacts have been noted to be bearing metabiotic strings posing hostile environment against human capacity development among the youths in the Country. Recent report have showed over 52 per cent of the labour force was either without jobs or working below their potential (underemployment). According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently, some of the factors responsible for the rise in the unemployment and underemployment rates include the low level of industrialisation in the Country, slow economic growth, low employability and quality of the labour force. It added that slow implementation of the national labour policy, as well as lack of coordinating labour policies at the subnational level, were other factors.
The profile of youth unemployment has become a subject of national discourse which if not addressed proactively, poses serious threats to make the society ungovernable for the Government. The high rate of the spread of organised criminal ventures across the Country, is a clear manifestation of one of the dire consequences of keeping a huge population having it difficult to lay their hands on productive ventures for ends meet. Where such problem persists, resort to illegal activities for survival may be much around the corner. In a situation where this aggravates persistently without timely solutions, the Government may become absolutely handicapped to address the societal chaos which may continue to brew out with strong preponderance. At this level, even the use of force, may never be sufficient to handle the situation.
The prevailing situation where despite arrests of culprits of criminal ventures many still indulge in such proclivities, is a clear reflection that the Government cannot continue to work on its current pace with the level of unemployment in the Country. How hoodlums hijacked the #ENDSARS protests last year and resorted to lootings and destructions of public and private properties, is evidence showing the rage of a youthful demography that is largely unemployed. The lingering status of the protest is a clear signal of warning that the Government needs to take as a matter of necessity, the importance of breaking barriers to strengthening youth empowerment programmes in the Country.
Necessity lies on the Government of the day to scale up its efforts towards Social Intervention Programmes for youth empowerment. The #ENDSARS protests came with off-shoots of socio-economic and political disturbances which should be enough lesson for the Government to learn from. The docility of the Government to surrounding circumstances without proactive steps have brought much national embarrassment to it as an institution, which should be at the fore of the thrust to ensuring the weflare of the populace is not rendered to the fate of jeopardy. Such inertia to timely address alarming situations have continued to brew winds of turbulence in the Country. A continuation of such incompetence and inproactiveness to compounding socio-economic unfavourable conditions holds the possibilities of grave threats which may interlock in various networking strings to set the polity off balance.
This therefore brings to the forebear, the inevitability of the Government to do more than the usual to drastically change the narrative of the mind-boggling height of youth unemployment in the Country. This is essentially proactive to set the guard in forestalling a looming national distress. It is important to state that such efforts should be complementary in pattern from all levels of government. No level of government should shelve and shift the necessity to the other. It was evident how State Governments’ properties and those of local authorities were not spared in the wanton destruction and attacks that trailed the #ENDSARS protests. It is therefore instructive that every level of government should take with much gravity, the necessity to drive the course for appreciable youth empowerment moves within their respective jurisdiction. It is however important that in the moves, the policies guiding the efforts and programmes should be complementary and not conflicting. This is essential to avoid poor coordination that would be counterproductive in the long run with clash of focus and objectives.
The population strength of the Nigerian youth is a resource the Government should take advantage of, in building a virile economy. A population becomes a burden when it is largely impoverished and wallowing in poor profile of productive capacities. Turning the strength of the Nigerian youthful population into resourceful advantage, remains a leverage the Government needs to understand how to exploit for driving appreciable socio-economic growth and development. This is key to turn the table from a burdensome population to a growth driving population.
Placing emphasis on policies to create ample opportunities for youths within the framework of education and the economy is key. It is evident that the profile of uneducated youths in the Country is alarming, just as the unemployment rate is known to be drawing closer to 40 per cent. The profile for youth underemployment appears to be worse off. The need to strengthen investment in skilling of young Nigerians, mental health services, technical trainings, safety measures and youth participation in decision-making, is paramount to redeem youths from rot while transforming them to well groomed personalities as formidable leaders who could firmly manage the future of the Country as a synosure of all eyes in the international community.